The James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown presents an exhibition from Florence’s Uffizi Gallery Art, on view April 21, 2012 through August 10, 2012.
Fabrizio Boschi (Firenze 1572-1642), The Miracle of the Manna, 1594-1597 ca., Oil on canvas, cm 144 x 229
For the first time ever, a selection of 44 paintings and tapestries from the famed Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, by such Renaissance and Baroque masters as Sandro Botticelli, Il Parmigianino, Lorenzo Monaco, Il Guercino and Cristofano Allori, is coming to the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa. Organized by Contemporanea Progetti, Florence, Italy, Offering of the Angels: Treasures from the Uffizi, at the Michener Art Museum in Bucks County, a suburb of Philadelphia, is sponsored by Maureen and Gregory Church, Carol and Louis Della Penna, and Paula and Kevin Putman. The media partner for this exhibit is CBS3/The CW-Philly.
“Offering of the Angels: Treasures from the Uffizi brings to the Michener Art Museum and Southeastern Pennsylvania a wealth of tapestries and old master paintings that are rarely, if ever, seen in this region,” says Michener Art Museum Director/CEO Bruce Katsiff. “We welcome the generosity of the Uffizi Gallery in allowing these treasures to travel here. The exhibition’s impressive works of art reflect, in their fullest expression, the high points of artistic achievement of Western civilization.”
The works from the Uffizi, which until this tour have never left Europe, embody the diversity, stylistic evolution, scale and technical mastery of art from Italy and Northern Europe over nearly 400 years, and represent a survey of European art at an important moment in its history.
This project represents a significant opportunity for the Michener Art Museum. Past focus has been on regional and changing exhibitions. The Uffizi show will be the museum’s first major traveling exhibition of European art for which the museum has appointed two consulting curators: Prof. Marcia Hall (Ph. D., Harvard) and Diane Cole Ahl (Ph.D., University of Virginia).
The museum has commitments from 17 regional religious leaders, representing the Muslim, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, and Quaker faiths, to serve on an Interfaith Council. This group will work with museum staff to develop interpretative content, to create programs on spirituality in America, and to help visitors explore the idea of redemption through the lens of multiple religious and spiritual viewpoints. The museum will serve as neutral space where faith communities can come together to learn about each other and find common ground.
Educational activities for K-12 students will be available in conjunction with the exhibit, based on state and national standards. These activities will connect with areas such as language arts, history, art history, visual arts, and science along with making global connections to themes found in the work. Materials will be available online and to schools who schedule a visit to the exhibition. There will also be a family guide available to visitors with younger children.
The Michener Art Museum will be providing an audio tour to visitors. A full-color exhibition book is also available for purchase. Timed tickets go on sale March 1 and are available only at www.MichenerArtMuseum.org. The museum is located at 138 South Pine St., Doylestown, Pa. Museum hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 10 am to 4:30 pm; Thursday, 10 am to 9 pm; Saturday 10 am to 5 pm; Sunday noon to 5 pm. Admission is free for members and children under six years of age. Non-member admission is $15 for adults, $13 for seniors $11 for college students with valid ID and $7.50 for children ages 6 through 18. Adult group tours are available for $12 per person. For more information, visit www.michenerartmuseum.org or call 215-340-9800.